Buggers at Pleasance Courtyard Upstairs

Buggers is a psychodrama exploring the turbulent relationship between artist Francis Bacon and his lover and muse George Dyer, written by and starring Alistair Hall as Bacon, with Peter Clements as Dyer. The play imagines a triptych of moments between the doomed couple, charting their relationship from its lustful beginnings in 1963 Soho to Dyer's death from an overdose in a Paris hotel room in 1971. Structured to echo Bacon's own artistic form, the production examines themes of passion, addiction, power, dependency, and the emotional cost of artistic ambition. The Estate of Francis Bacon granted Hall rare access to personal documents, letters, and artefacts, informing both the writing and the performances.